Readying for Retail

The Tube Council will be showcasing the latest in tubes at HBA Global Expo.

The Tube Council will be participating in the Innovations in Tubes Pavilion at the upcoming HBA Global Expo June 19–21 at New York City’s Jacob Javits Convention Center. The pavilion will offer attendees one location for education on tube innovations and networking activities.

The following members of The Tube Council will be participating as pavilion sponsors: Berry Plastics, Essel Propack, and Montebello, as well as Tube Council partner Tube News. The members listed above will also participate in a special Trends Spot Theater presentation on tubes innovation. Please be sure to visit The Tube Council exhibit booth #1653.

This year HBA celebrates its 20th anniversary as one of the largest events for the global beauty industry. For more details about the pavilion, visit www.hbaexpo.com/tubes-pavilion.

“We think that in the very near future, tubes will be cartonless, so they will need to stand alone on retail shelves,” says Ted Sojourner, regional vice president–Americas, for Essel Propack, and president of The Tube Council. “Tubes will need to project the brand’s image, so decoration is essential. Brand owners will need to take their tube designs to the next level to attract consumers.”

Recent advances in digital printing support retail market trends, Sojourner says. “Digital tube printing helps us provide flexibility and just in time production to support brand owners’ attempts to be spontaneous with new product concepts. It is important to be nimble for the retail environment.”

For instance, digital printing’s low volumes and quick turnaround “help us get to market quickly and support small market testing,” adds Sojourner. “We recognize the need for customers to start off small when testing new products and new concepts.”
Forty-eight-hour lead time is now possible for small quantities of tubes, adds Kunal Kuthiala, regional innovation manager for Essel Propack.

Essel Propack can even embed unique logos and tracking codes into printing for brand protection and anticounterfeiting, adds Sojourner.

The company can also be flexible when producing specialty closures and dispensers. “We have the capability to perform prototyping in Danville, VA, and we can be flexible in injection molding applications and rapid prototyping,” says Sojourner. “We are wide open to unique ideas and concepts.”

Essel Propack is also offering novel printing capabilities such as its Retina XL, which employs extended gamut printing to reflect back more color to the consumer’s eye.

During the HBA Global Expo, the company’s business development managers will be available and will be accompanied by its global & regional creativity & innovations (C&I) director to answer any tube questions and offer innovative ideas for specific product needs.

At HBA, Essel Propack will hold Tube One on One sessions at regular intervals to share these capabilities and the features and benefits of tubes. Dr. M.K. Banerjee from Essel Propack in India will be in attendance at the show to discuss next-generation technologies and sustainability. Meetings may be scheduled with business development managers by e-mailing info.americas@ep.esselgroup.com or calling 434/822-8007.

Montebello Packaging
At HBA, Montebello Packaging will be spotlighting its new neckless tube for single-use applications. Using the tubes for its own line of nutritional supplements called Intuition, the company was recognized for the concept with the 2010 Ted Klein Tube of the Year Award from The Tube Council.

The single-use laminate tube forgoes the conventional threaded neck and cap and instead features an aluminum lidstock induction-sealed to a dispensing orifice.

The design can help brand owners differentiate their products with a unique look as well as support sustainability initiatives, explains Alex Piagnarelli, vice president of sales, Montebello Packaging. “With no neck or cap, this tube gives companies the chance for lightweighting their packaging when compared with conventional tubes. There is less weight and less waste, and therefore less impact on our environment.”

There may be some cost efficiency, too, for certain products, given the reduction in plastic, Piagnarelli says.
Adds Kathy Mercer, sales manager for Montebello and brand manager for Intuition: “You are also cutting out the inventory costs of additional components.”

Users have called the neckless tubes “cute” and “unique,” adds Mercer. “Our research has found that users appreciate what they call a ‘brand-new delivery system,’ ” she says, citing a Nielsen survey conducted a few years ago.

The Neckless tube is available in a variety of sizes and materials. Diameters include ½-, ¾-, ⅞-, 1-, 1 11/32-, and 1½-in. versions; orifice options include 0.125 mm and 0.250 mm. In addition to these standard orifices, Piagnarelli says that there are custom options that can be used to dictate the volume and speed of product dispensed.

Three different laminates are available: silver and white aluminum-based barrier laminations and a translucent EVOH plastic laminate. Seven-color digital printing is available.

This single-use tube has already been used for Intuition as well as a nutritional supplement from Nature’s Treasure (see page 11 for details) and can also be used for health and beauty care, food, samplers, condiments, liquor, adhesives, hotel amenities, travel products, and others. “They can be used to replace hard-to-open, messy packets,” says Piagnarelli.

“The tubes are great for portion control, because they can be made and filled to the exact dose needed,” adds Mercer. “There is no confusion over portions.”

Mercer adds that a pharmaceutical company recently expressed interest because of the dosing control and the potential to eliminate product waste.

“The company also stated that our pricing was in-line with that of sachets,” she explains.

Montebello will be demonstrating the neckless tubes at the Tube Innovations Pavilion as well as during 10-minute presentations on a larger stage at HBA, where a video will be shown on tube manufacturing. For details, e-mail montebellopkg@montebellopkg.com or visit www.montebellopkg.com.